Canning apparatus



May 20, 1930. w. E. LACEY CANNING APPARATUS Filed May 20, 1929 INVENTOR 4 T l iELag-ey Patented May 20, 1930 PATENT oFFiceY 'wrLn n E. LACEY, or IsLE'ron, oA'LIroRNIA V fcAnNIN APPARATUS Applieation filed. May '20; 1929. Serial No. 364,460. i

This invention relates to'the canning of food products, especially. asparagus and'particularly to'the initial steplof placing the asparagus in the canspriorto the cooking '6 ofsameQ, m

At present it is-necessary for the cannery operators to gather; the asparagus stalks up in their hands'in small bundles, and place the same upright in the cans.' This is a somewhat slow procedure, as is well known to those inthe industry, since, among other things,-the asparagus is somewhat soft'owing to the prior treatment to which it has been subjected and it is consequently delicate to handle and tends to catch on the edge of the can while being inserted vertically therein. ,Itis also. hard toifillthe canto arproperly fulliextent with any kind of speed. The principal object of my invention is tosprovide an appliance which enables asparagus of the requisite amount to fill. a can to be initially laid downflat and to be'then 'inject'edalljat once intothe can without danger of any' stalks catching on the edge of the can; The efliciency of'my improved means of packing asparagus into the. cans over present/methods is suchthat-two oper ators are able to .easilyrfill as many cans in a given time asnow requires the" services of eight'or more operators.

A further objet of. the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed. 3

Theseobjects ,Iaccomplish by means of such structure and relative: arrangement of parts as will fully' appear by a "perusal" of the following specification and "claims.

' I In the drawings'similar .characters'of refe "1 erence indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

. YFig. 1"s .afl' erspective view of the appa ratus inposition to 'be'filled with asparagus.

, Figri2 is asimilar; view showing the can interposed in place-in connection with the receptacle ia-fterithe latter has been filled.

. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of-the'apparatus in connection with an showing 0 the asparagus after itlhas' beentransferred from the receptacle to thecan.

along the sides/ S0 back end ofthe receptacle and the lid is then I Fig. 4 is a similarview showing the ad; ustmentof the parts toenable the device. to beoperated in connection withshort cans.

Beterrmg now more -,particularly to the drawings 'a nd the characters pfreference marked thereon, the numeral 1 denotes'a pair of transversely spaced guide members which areconnected attheir ends byflat orificed straps 2 or the like which are adapted to rest on and be secured to the work-bench or table 8. V The members 1 form support and guiding means for the asparagus receiving receptacle 4 which is substantially the same size and shape as a standard asparagus can 5 andis; d sposed on the slide with its majorgaxis'in a horizontal plane, a 2 The front end ofthe receptacle is open while the top; is in the formof a lid-6 hinged along one side of the same as indicated at 7-; 79 Freely. fitting in the. receptacle is. a thin plunger 8 substantially the same size and area as the cross sectional area of theirecepk tacle,which plunger is rigidlysupport'ed by a horizontal rod'9 which projects through the back of the receptacle to a supporting bracket 10 fixed in connection with theflade jacent end of the guide members lfl Tlie length of the rod betweenthe plungerand bracket is substantiallythe same asgthat of 0 the receptacle so thatwhen the latterlis slid to its limit of movement .in the direction of thebracket the plunger will lie adj acent; the front open end of the receptacle-as shown in Fig. 3.; I 4 j Mounted inconnection with 1 top of'thefsame is a strapxll which projects beyondfthe' open end "of the receptacle a [distance" approximately equal to a the length of thecanb and which terminates at its outer end'in a depending extension 12 to engage the adjacentfend" of the can as shown in-Figs'. 2. and 3. A handle 13 connected tofthe' strap over the lid' 'enables the latter toopened v I and closed and the receptacle and can tofbe moved lengthwise along theslides. i In operation the receptacle is fiISl'i shifted that the plunger is at the e opened as shown in Fig. 1. Theasparagus, which is already cut to the proper length, is

then laid horizontally in the receptacle from above until it is full. The can is then placed in the slide ahead of the receptacle so that its open top then abuts against the open end of the rece tacle.

The'hd is thenclo'sed which at the same time causes the extension 12 to move into en gaging position with 'the outer .or bottom end of the can. The handle is then moved to-' ward the opposite end of the guides, ;whi ch causes the stationary plunger to be relatively shifted in position in the. can so that the; asparagus is transferred as aunit from, the receptacle to the can." When the receptacle reaches its limit of movement the lid is thrown.

open, the can is'removed and the receptacle is shifted to its original position relative to the 'plunger ready for the next filling. opera tion. 7 V

Since standard asparagus cans are of two lengths but thesamecrosssectional area I mount the strap 11 on the lid for sliding movement relative thereto so that the distance from the extension 12 to the adjacent end of the receptacle may be altered; to conform to the different lengths of cans. T01

hold the extension at'a proper distance for long cans the strap has a stop 11? at -its end opposite to the extension for'engagement with .thebackofthe receptacle, Said strap islalso I arranged to'have'a removable stopl applied thereto somewhat ahead of the stopll to also engagethe back of the receptacle and to then hold the strap extension at the proper distance fromthe receptacle to cooperate with the short can 55 as showninFig. 4. To conntrol the normal position of the plungerrelative to'the openend of the receptacle for such shortcans a removable pin 15 or the like is applied "to the rod 9 in a position to prevent outward movement of thereceptacle relative to the" plunger a greater distance thanthe length "oft'he short-cut asparagus or can.

"While I have herein especially described f and shown the device as intended for the can- 'ning of-asparagus, said device is not limited to'this particular use since itis equally adapt- .ablefor canning otherproducts such assweet potatoes, string beans, and the like.

' From the foregoing descriptionit will be readily seen that Iihave' produced such ade- 7 q vicefassubstantially fulfills the objects of the .55 j r -y'While this specification setsforth in detail the invention as set'forth herein."

present and preferred construction of l the devicastillin practice such deviations I from such detailmaybe resorted to "as do V invention, as defined by the appendedclaims} Having thus described my invention what not form a departure from the spirit ofthe I claim as new and usefuland desire to secure I by Letters Patent is: g g 1 '-1-.- A can filling device includinga-recepopen toppedlcan when disposed with its open end abutting against the open end of the receptable, a plunger in; the;receptacle rigid fwith the support, stop means forlimitingthe tacle of substantially the same size and shape as a can, and disposed with its major axis horizontally, said receptacle beingopen at one end 7 and along the top, a hinged lid for the top, a

support along which said receptacle is slidable and also serving as a support for an open topped can when disposed with its open end abutting against the open end o fathe receptacle, a plunger in the receptacle rigid with the support, and means mounted in connection with the receptacle for engagement with V the outer end of the can toenable said can and're ceptacle to be moved as a unit along thesupport- 2. A can filling device including a receptacle ofsubstantially the same size and shape as a can, and disposedwith'its majoraxis' horizontally, said receptacle being open at lengthwise relative toeach other whereby .to

cause articles initially placedinthe receptablef between the open end thereof and the plunger vto be transferred to the can'with such movement. 7 y l V I 3. A can filling device includingia recap tacle of substantially the samesizejand shape 7 as a can, and disposed with'its major axis horw izontally, said receptaclebeing open at one end and along the top, ahinged' lid for the top, a support along which said receptacle is slidable and also servingas a supportlfor an open'topped can when disposedwith-its. open end abutting against the open ;'end of there ceptacle, a plunger in the receptacleprigid 1.

with the support,.a strap mountedinconneotion withithe lid and extending 'beyon d the p openendof the receptacle, anangular extension on the outer end of said strap for engage ment with the outer end of the can when the. lid'is closed, and a handle mounted in connection with the lid.

"lie

7 4. A structure as in claim 1, with a common handle for operating the door and for moving the receptacle and -can.. v 3 '1 J I -5.' 'A can filling device including alreceptacle of substantially the same size and shape izontally, said receptacle;being open: at one slidable and alsoserving asasupport forian relative" movement'o the plunger away .from

- the open end of the receptacle, astrap-Yslidably mounted on the lidformovement length? v as a can; and disposed with its major axis horend and alongthe top, a hinged lid for the V, a top, a support along whichi said receptacle'is 

